Abstract

Background

Students’ motives for studying Dentistry have been a subject of interest for years
because of the potential for understanding the psychological makeup and subsequent
job satisfaction for the dentist. It is also useful in identifying expectations of
the profession. This study therefore tried to identify study motives and career preferences
of dental students especially with respect to the practice of paediatric dentistry.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. The final
year students in six dental schools in Nigeria were required to fill the questionnaire.
Students were asked to rank their motives and career preferences on a Likert like
scale with points ranging from 0–5 where 0 represented a factor that had no influence
on their decision and 5 represented a very influential factor. The underlying dimensions
for study motives, career preference, impression about and motive for interest in
the practice of paediatric dentistry were identified using factor analysis.

Results

One hundred and seventy nine of 223 students (80.3%) participated in this study. Motives
for the practice of dentistry included characteristics of the profession, altruism
and intellectual challenges, existence of artistic theme in dentistry and parent’s
recommendation. Overall, 67.1% of respondents indicated interest in postgraduate studies
and 50.8% were interested in paediatric dentistry practice. The main motives for showing
interest in the practice of paediatric dentistry were ‘personal interest, professional
interest and interest of significant others in children’, and ‘family influence’.
Significantly more males than females were interested in the practice of paediatric
dentistry though the motives for interest in the practice of paediatric dentistry
did not differ significantly by sex or age.

Conclusion

The non-significant sex difference in the motives for interest in the practice of
paediatric dentistry is a possible reflection of changes in strong cultural themes
in the motives for career choices in Nigeria.